Device for managing dish stocks

ABSTRACT

Device for managing dish ( 1 ) stocks in a restaurant, in particular a fast-service restaurant, characterized in that it contains a storage room ( 2 ) with a number of positions for rows of dishes ( 1 ), whereby different rows may contain different types of dishes ( 1 ), but whereby each row is designed to contain dishes ( 1 ) of one and the same type; means ( 14 - 17 ) to move the dishes ( 1 ) contained in every row to a distribution point where a dish ( 1 ) can be taken out of the storage room ( 2 ); means ( 19 ) to detect the dishes ( 1 ) contained in the storage room ( 2 ); at least one instruction means ( 21 ) near a preparation room ( 7 ); and a computer control ( 12 ) where data, among others regarding sales figures, can be put in and/or stored and which is connected to the above-mentioned detection means ( 19 ) and the above-mentioned instruction means ( 21 ), and which is able to give instructions via the instruction means ( 21 ) as a function of the above-mentioned data and of the information of the detection means ( 19 ).

The present invention concerns a device for managing dish stocks in arestaurant, in particular a fast-service restaurant.

These dishes may be composed of several products which are either or notsimilar, such as vegetables, or they may be composed of one piece, suchas a piece of meat, or they may be compound, such as a hamburgersandwich or menu, a sausage roll, a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, aspring roll or such. The dish is hereby preferably packed or at leastplaced on a plate or saucer or such.

In fast-service restaurants, generally called fast food restaurants, itis customary that dishes such as hamburger menus are lying ready, forexample on a table, before the consumer orders them.

However, these dishes may not be left lying too long before use, sincetheir quality quickly deteriorates with time Dishes which are left lyinglonger than a certain length of time, for example 10 minutes, are oftenremoved and considered as waste.

In order to have a sufficiently large number of dishes of differenttypes in store, so that the consumers do not have to wait, irrespectiveof the type of dish they have ordered on the one hand, and to lose asfew left portions as possible on the other hand, a particularlycomplicated management is required, the more so since demand maystrongly vary in time.

In large fast-service restaurants, this management is entrusted to anemployee who, taking into account statistical data regarding the salesin previous periods, decides with what sort of dishes the stocks need tobe replenished, and who visually checks what dishes have been lyingthere for too long and must be removed from the stocks.

This person gives instructions to the persons in the rooms where thefood is being prepared to prepare a particular dish in order toanticipate the expected demand for this type of dish. By means of aclock and some sign which accompanies every dish when it is put instore, said person decides what dishes have been lying in store for toolong and must be removed.

The stock management not only requires an extra person, but even whenthis person has a lot of experience and usually has a computer at hisdisposal containing the actual sales data, his instructions neverthelessremain largely based on speculation and consequently are often wrong, sothat a relatively large number of dishes end up as waste, which implieslosses.

The invention aims a device for managing dish stocks which avoids thesedisadvantages and which takes over the task of the above-mentionedperson and takes care of the management in a better way.

This aim is reached according to the invention by means of a devicecontaining a storage room with a number of positions for rows of dishes,whereby different rows may contain different types of dishes, butwhereby each row is designed to contain dishes of one and the same type;means to move the dishes contained in every row to a distribution pointwhere a dish can be taken out of the storage room; means to detect thedishes contained in the storage room; at least one instruction meansnear a preparation room; and a computer control where data, among othersregarding sales figures, can be put in and/or stored and which isconnected to the above-mentioned detection means and the above-mentionedinstruction means, and which is able to give instructions via theinstruction means as a function of the above-mentioned data and of theinformation of the detection means.

The troughs may be inclined downwards towards the distribution point,whereby the means for moving the dishes may contain a roller conveyor ormeans for forming an air cushion. In the latter case, the air cushionmay be formed with hot air which is also used to keep the dishes instore warm.

Preferably, the storage room contains a number of troughs whereby everytrough contains the positions for one row of dishes.

These troughs may form a whole and together form an inclined surfacewith walls and partitions.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the device alsocontains a removal mechanism which is controlled by the computer forremoving a dish out of a row on the distribution point.

The device may also contain detection. means connected to the computercontrol for detecting one or several of the following numbers: thenumber of clients queuing at the cash desk or the ordering desk, thenumber of clients entering and leaving the restaurant or also the numberof passers-by of the restaurant.

In order to better explain the characteristics of the invention, thefollowing preferred embodiment of a device for managing dish stocksaccording to the invention is described as an example only without beinglimitative in any way, with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 schematically represents a top view of a device according to theinvention, whereby the storage room is represented proportionally largerthan the other parts;

FIG. 2 schematically represents a side view of the device from FIG. 1.

The figures represent a device for managing stocks of packed dishes 1,namely hamburger menus, in a fast-service restaurant, namely a hamburgerrestaurant.

A dish 1 consists of a single hamburger menu packed in a quadrangularbox made of foam plastic.

This device contains a storage room 2 with a number of positions forrows of dishes 1 and which consists of a number of inclined troughs 3,for example eight, which are formed of an inclined plane 4 upon whichare provided partitions 5 and which is mounted in a tunnel 6. Everytrough 3 contains the positions of the dishes of a single row.

The tunnel 6 is shorter than the inclined plane 4, such that thisinclined plane 4 protrudes with its top and bottom ends outside thetunnel 6.

Said storage room 2 is erected between a number of preparation rooms 7,for example four, where the meat of the hamburgers is fried and wherethe hamburger menus are composed on the one hand, and of a number ofcash desks 8, for example also four, where one must order and which,apart from a cash register 8A, also contain a delivery counter 8B.

The highest end of the troughs 3 is situated on the side of thepreparation rooms 7. At this end, the position for one dish 1 issituated outside the tunnel 6. The lowest end is situated on the side ofthe cash desks 8. At this end, the position for one dish 1 is alsosituated outside the tunnel 6. This end of the trough 3 is closed off bya wall 9 and the above-mentioned position on this end forms the point ofdistribution where the dishes 1 can be taken out of the trough 3.

Against this wall 9 and above a discharge chute 10 for waste is providedan opening in the bottom of every trough 3 which is large enough for apacked dish 1 and which can be closed off by means of a removalmechanism 11,13 which can be controlled from a distance by a computercontrol 12. In the given example, this removal mechanism 11,13 consistsof a flap 11 which can be rotated by a motor 13 controlled by thecomputer control 12. However, this removal mechanism 11 may also be aconveyor belt or such whose driving motor is controlled by the computercontrol 12.

The device contains a transport device for moving the packed dishes 1 inevery trough 3 to the above-mentioned point of distribution at the lowerend of this trough.

The slope of the troughs 3 is not sufficient as such for the packeddishes 1 to automatically carry out said movement due to the force ofgravity and to link up in a single row.

That is why the transport device also includes a roller conveyor in thebottom of the troughs 3 or the transport device 14-17 may provide for anair cushion under the packed dishes 1.

The transport device 14-17 includes a compressor 14 for sending air toopenings 16 provided in the bottom of the troughs 3 via air pipes 15.These pipes 15 may be connected directly to the openings 16, asrepresented in the figures, or they may open into the tunnel 6 under theinclined plane 4.

In this case, the tunnel 6 is preferably closed on both ends under theinclined plane 4.

The transport device 14-17 preferably also includes a heat exchanger orheating unit 17 on the outlet of the compressor 14 to heat the air, suchthat the air for the air cushion can also be used for keeping the dishes1 warm.

Among other things to restrict the heat loss, the tunnel 6 is closed offby walls 18 on both ends, at least above the inclined plane 4, butpreferably also under said inclined plane 4, save for a passage for thedishes 1.

These walls 18 are preferably translucent, for example made ofPlexiglas. In view of possible maintenance works or reparations, thesewalls 18 are removable or hinge-mounted in relation to the tunnel 6.

The device further includes a detection device 19 connected to thecomputer control 12 for detecting the dishes 1 which are situated inevery trough 3. In the embodiment represented, the detection device 19includes a single sensor on every place where there may be a packed dish1, and thus they cannot only detect how many dishes 1 are situated inthe trough 3, but they can even detect on what place the dishes 1 aresituated in the trough 3. These sensors are for example infrareddetectors which have been worked into the bottom of the troughs 3. Thedetectors may also be proximity switches, photo detectors,light-sensitive resistors, camera's connected to a PC or such, and theymay also be erected above or next to every place or possible place of adish 1.

In the given example, a maximum of eight packed dishes 1 may be situatedin the trough 3 so that, as there are eight troughs 3, the detectiondevice 19 includes sixty four detectors which are each connectedseparately to the computer control 12.

The computer control 12 is also connected to the detection device 19 fordetecting how many people are queuing at the cash desks 8. Also thedetection device may consist of one or several infrared or otherdetectors. These detectors determine the presence or absence of peoplein line.

Also means which detect the number of people entering and/or leaving therestaurant may be connected to the computer control 12, and even meansdetecting the number of passers-by in the street.

This computer control 12 is equipped with a clock, a calendar and amemory in which the information of the above-mentioned detection meansand thus among others of the transport device 14-17 and detection device19 and of the cash desks 8 can be stored together with the data ofprevious sales.

Finally, the device contains an instruction device 21 near each of thepreparation rooms 7 which is connected to the computer control 12 andcontains an audio-visual means, for example a screen 22 and/or an audiosignal generator and/or an optical signal generator.

The working of the device is simple and as follows:

The activity on the cash desks 8 is detected by the means 20 andpossibly also the number of passers-by.

These data are put in the computer control 12, together with the dataregarding the orders of the cash desks 8, which also reckons with datacontained in its memory or which are read from a data carrier regardingthe sales at the same point of time in the past, for example a precedingyear, a preceding month or even a preceding day.

As a function thereof, the computer control 12 will calculate how manyof each sort of dishes should be in store or, in other words, how manydishes should be found in every trough 3.

The computer control 12 receives data from the detectors forming thedetection device 19 about the number of dishes 1 which are actuallypresent in the trough 3.

If the required number of dishes 1 in a trough 3 does not coincide withthe number of detected dishes 1 in this trough 3, the computer control12 will give instructions via one of the instruction means 21, namelyvia the one situated near the preparation room 7 where the dishes 1 forthis trough 3 are prepared, to prepare one or several of these dishes 1and to place it/them in the trough 3.

The computer control 12 may hereby take into account that when therestaurant opens, a minimum of dishes must be placed in every trough 3.In order to determine this minimum, the computer control 12 may baseitself on statistical data available in its memory and/or which can beread from a data carrier such as a diskette.

Every time a dish 1 is placed in a trough 3, this is detected by one ofthe detectors of the detection device 19, and the computer control 12will note the point of time at which this takes place. Via the detectiondevice 19, the computer control 12 can follow the progress of this dishin a trough 3, and it knows at any time where the dish is situated andhow long it has already been in the trough 3.

Each time the oldest dish 1 in a trough 3, which naturally is situatedagainst the wall 9 and thus above the flap 11 at the lowest end of atrough 3, has been longer in the trough 3 than a predetermined length oftime, the computer control 12 will command, by means of the motor 13,the removal mechanism 11,13 to become activated, for example by openinga flap in the bottom of the trough 3, so that said oldest dish 1 fallsin the discharge chute 10.

Naturally, when determining the number of dishes 1 that are actuallypresent in every trough 3, the computer control 12 will reckon with theremoved dishes 1, both the dishes which have been removed by the removalmechanism 11,13 and those which have been taken out of the trough by anemployee, for example a cashier, for delivery to a client at thedelivery counter 8B.

Each time a single dish 1 disappears in any of the above-mentioned ways,the other dishes 1 in the trough 3 will automatically link up to oneanother thanks to the transport device 14-17 producing an air cushion,so that as row is formed which constantly links up to the bottom end ofthe trough 3. The transport device 14-17 may only produce an air cushionwhen the movement of one or several dishes 1 becomes necessary, butpreferably it continuously produces an air cushion.

The computer control 12 can thus order the preparation of differenttypes of new dishes 1 in a quicker way and with more precision, as afunction of the expected sales of every dish 1 of the type in question.

The losses resulting from dishes 1 which have been lying in the storageroom 2 for too long is restricted to a minimum.

The computer control can continuously evaluate the situation and makequick adjustments if necessary.

The present invention is by no means limited to the above-describedembodiments represented in the accompanying drawings; on the contrary,such a device for managing dish stocks can be made in all sorts ofvariants while still remaining within the scope of the invention.

In particular, the transport device 14-17 for moving the dishes must notnecessarily contain a roller conveyor or an air cushion.

It may possibly consist of the mere inclined plane 4, provided itsgradient is large enough, whereby the surface of this plane 4 ispreferably smooth.

The transport device 14-17 may also include driven means and for examplecontain a conveyor belt forming the bottom of the troughs.

When they are driven, these means can be controlled by the computercontrol. If the means are driven, the troughs must not necessarily beinclined. Neither should the dishes 1 link up to one another in a singlerow, but the row must be a continuous row and not contain any gaps wherethere could be a dish.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for managing dish stocks in a restaurantand positioned between at least one food preparation room and to atleast one cash desk, said device comprising: a storage room having anumber of positions for rows of dishes extending across said storageroom from one side to adjacent said at least one food preparation roomand another side adjacent to said at least one cash desk, each rowconfigured and dimensioned to accommodate different types of disheswherein each row is arranged to contain dishes of a predetermined type;a transport device arranged to transport dishes positioned in each ofsaid rows to a distribution point, said distribution point beingpositioned near the periphery of said another side of said storage room;a detection device including detectors arranged along each of said rowsto detect dishes in each of said rows; at least one instruction deviceseparately located outside the periphery of said one side of saidstorage room said at least one food preparation room, said at least oneinstruction device indicating which among said different types of dishesare to be prepared; and a computer control device linked to saiddetection device and said at least one instruction device, wherein saidcomputer control device is arranged to receive data regarding salesfigures of said predetermined types of dishes, said computer controldevice sending food preparation instructions to said instruction deviceas a function of said sales figures and detected data from saiddetection device.
 2. The device according to claim 1 further comprisinga removal mechanism controlled by said computer control device, saidremoval mechanism arranged to remove a dish located in one of said rowsof said storage room positioned at the distribution point.
 3. The deviceaccording to claim 1 wherein one instruction device is provided for andlocated near each of said food preparation rooms.
 4. The deviceaccording to claim 1 wherein each instruction device includes anaudio-visual display.
 5. The device according to claim 1 wherein thedetection device includes a single detector corresponding to eachposition a dish may be positioned in said storage room.
 6. The deviceaccording to claim 1 wherein said detection device is arranged to sendinformation to said computer control device, said information includingthe number of clients in line at a corresponding cash desk, the numberof clients entering and leaving said restaurant and the number ofpassers-by of the restaurant.
 7. The device according to claim 1 whereinthe storage room comprises a plurality of troughs, each of said troughsforming a single one of each of said rows.
 8. The device according toclaim 7 wherein each of said troughs includes a downward inclinebeginning at said one side of said storage room and descending towardssaid distribution point, said transport device including a rollerconveyor.
 9. The device according to claim 7 wherein each of saidtroughs includes walls and partitions dimensioned and configured toretain said dishes.
 10. The device according to claim 7 wherein each ofsaid troughs includes a downward incline beginning at said one sideadjacent to said at least one food preparation room and descendingtowards said distribution point, said transport device arranged to forman air cushion under said dishes.
 11. The device according to claim 10wherein the transport device includes a heating unit arranged to heatthe air generated by said air cushion.
 12. The device according to claim7 wherein said storage room includes a tunnel formed by a top, a bottomand side walls forming the periphery of said storage room.
 13. Thedevice according to claim 12 wherein portions of said plurality oftroughs extend beyond the periphery of said storage unit adjacent tosaid at least one food preparation room and said at least one cash desk.14. The device according to claim 13 wherein said side walls of saidtunnel adjacent to said at least one food preparation room and said atleast one cash desk are hinged to a stationary portion of said tunnel.